Today I had a meeting with the window company. They specialise in manufacturing and refurbishing sliding sash windows. Their main market, unsurprisingly, is conservation-focused projects - so like most people working on the eco-house, our project will be new territory for them. The broader issues about the windows in this house will be saved for a separate article, so here I will write specifically about today's meeting.

Based in a back-street industrial unit in Stockport, their workshop is a hive of activity, with the odd juxtaposition of traditional woodworking methods and guys on computers calculating U-values. All the people I met - at least three different people got involved during the course of my visit - seemed to have both a good knowledge of and a passion for sash windows.

We went through a number of details during the meeting: who will fit the windows (now the window company, not the main contractors); how to tackle the voussoir arches on the rear elevation; incorporating trickle vents into the windows (this being something these guys don't normally need to do, as they don't normally work on buildings that are to current Building Regulations); discussion about locks, and paint.

Overall I felt the meeting went very well, I now need to arrange to make the first payment to them and they will be arranging a measure-up visit to the house, following which pricing and install dates can be finalised.

Meanwhile, I'm told the scaffolding will be going up tomorrow.